Splendour on the Lido comes into contrast with gloomy visions of the end of the world and downbeat epics across the Venice competition and Orizzonte section.
Venice 2024: Sunny Weather. Gloomy Cinema.

Exploring the Outer Edge of Film
The last of the “big three” European film festivals of the year, Venice marks the gliterring kickstart of the Oscar season.
Splendour on the Lido comes into contrast with gloomy visions of the end of the world and downbeat epics across the Venice competition and Orizzonte section.
With hints of Zodiac and Seven, Fabrice du Welz’s new thriller Maldoror — charting the real-life murders of Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux — aims for that nasty, slow burn.
Fascist bonehead study Familia refreshingly avoids clichéd redemption arcs in favour of a more nuanced take on the cyclical nature of toxic masculinity.
The dehumanisation of seeking asylum is piercingly explored in Alexandros Avranas’ horror-but-not-horror Quiet Life. Live from Venice Film Festival!
Vermin is one of the downright nastiest yet compelling creature-features made in recent years, a true standout of the Venice Film Festival.
The careers of three excellent actresses are launched in Mika Gustafson’s sensitive ode to the travails and beauty of youth — live from Venice Film Festival.
The perils of being a vampire in a regular-old world are subtly investigated in For Night Will Come — beating away clichés before eventually succumbing to them.
Sculpture unlocks the essence of a man in Anaïs Tellenne’s tender, enigmatic debut The Dreamer — live from Venice Film Festival.
Behind the Mountains mixes thriller themes with the supernatural genre, to mixed, often underwhelming effect — live from Venice Film Festival.
One man’s quixotic dream to host a Pink Floyd concert in the Amazon rainforest is frustratingly explored in The Outpost — live from Venice Film Festival.